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What Should Chris Christie Have Said?

By PLAYBOOK READERS

January 09, 2014

Each week, Politico Magazine picks a political scandal to highlight, and our colleague Mike Allen asks Playbook readers to weigh in with their crisis-management expertise, both professional and otherwise.

This week’s bonus challenge: Chris Christie and the bridge. Critics have alleged for months that the New Jersey governor and possible Republican candidate for president in 2016, or those close to him, had conjured up traffic jams to punish a Democratic mayor. On Wednesday, a minor political problem suddenly became a major scandal when a New Jersey paper revealed that one of Christie’s top aides was indeed aware of the mysterious lane closures that afflicted commuters headed to Fort Lee, a town on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge, for several days in September. “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” she wrote in an email to another Christie appointee, who replied, “Got it.”

In a theatrical press conference Thursday that ranged well beyond 90 minutes, Christie gave his first extended remarks on the controversy, denying any foreknowledge of the lane closures and firing Bridget Kelly, his deputy chief of staff. “I am responsible for what happened. I am sad to report to the people of New Jersey that we fell short,” Christie said. Over the course of more than 19,000 words, Christie called Kelly’s actions “completely unacceptable,” repeatedly took the fall and tried to salvage his national aspirations by insisting that he was “not a bully”—in other words, pretty much what our readers recommended.

We’ll announce a winner in Friday’s Playbook.

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Joseph J. Brettell, CRC Public Relations

The governor needs to enact a series of measures that will rebuild his credibility and transparency with the voters. He should take three steps to make sure that happens:

1) Appoint a retired judge to conduct a comprehensive, independent investigation into the bridge scandal and submit a report and recommendations to the governor in 90 days.

2) In addition to immediately firing all of those responsible, he should conduct a review of all senior-level staff to determine whether there are other potential scandals. Fire other staff caught in questionable behavior.

3) Work with the legislature to develop new ethics legislation, increasing transparency for state employees and enacting other ethics reforms as necessary.

This won’t be a quick or easy fix, but if the governor is serious about avoiding these kinds of issues in the future, he’ll take this route. If successful, he has plenty of time to watch these new endeavors bear fruit and will be able to point to them on the trail in 2016.

Cliff Bauerle, Playbook reader in Bedford, Texas

“I quit.”

Stephen Ratner, Playbook reader

“I don’t care if you are my friend, foe or ally. If you hurt the people of New Jersey, you won’t have the pleasure of serving them any longer. Not while I’m the boss. That’s why I’m firing X, Y and Z. No resignation letters or apologies. I have personally showed them the door with a two-word goodbye: Get out. I’ll now take your questions until there aren’t any more.”

Lawrence Purpuro, senior policy adviser, DLA Piper LLP

“Let me begin this press conference with the sincerest possible apology to the people of Fort Lee, to N. Jersey commuters and to the taxpayers of New Jersey.

“If, as chief executive one can take credit for the successes that are the work of staff, he or she must also take responsibility for the failures of those same staffers.

“I stand before you to say to New Jersey citizens that I take full responsibility and am deeply sorry for the problems caused by the efforts to purposefully create traffic around the George Washington Bridge. There’s no spin to put on this fiasco: It was an act of bad judgment, it was an act of political retribution, it was an act of arrogance.

“As I am ultimately responsible for the people in my employ—who believe that such actions were in any way consistent with their responsibilities as trustees of state government—I have failed as their leader. As I am ultimately responsible to the citizens of New Jersey—who trust me to manage the affairs of government to the highest standard—I have also failed as their governor.

“Federal authorities, State legislative investigatory committees and all other appropriate parties will have my full cooperation in determining the cause of and participants in this scandal.

“Since I have learned just yesterday of the involvement of my staff and have yet to learn the full extent of their involvement I will refrain from commenting or speculating on this part of this mess. However as this matter involves me and my involvement as governor, I am happy to address all of your questions.

In addition to blustery indignation that he won’t tolerate this and so-and-so is being fired, Christie has to do what most politicians—Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama among them—find so painful to do: show genuine contrition and humility.

“I was not aware of this, but make no mistake: I am the one who must be held accountable. That’s my job, and in this case in addition to being angry I am also horribly embarrassed. People who are in their jobs because I trusted them proved unworthy of my trust and of yours. This goes on my account. People are mad and they deserve to be. I’ll get to the bottom of this and make it right. What’s more, and I am speaking now to the people who were adversely affected by this and indeed to every New Jersey citizen: I apologize. I. Am. Sorry.”